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Marijuana Legality/Morality Discussion Thread

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oh is it time for this thread again

basically its ridiculous that people arent permitted to do something that [directly] affects nobody else but themselves. im seriously not allowed to plant a seed in a little patch of dirt and then burn the grown plant and inhale the fumes? fuck that
 
Where I live if you do drugs and get caught, you're subject to being executed. (This is for stuff like Heroin, but you get lashes if you do others, like weed).

Yeah so I stay away from it...
 
I personally have never and most likely will never smoke weed. I know many people that are completely dependent on it. Their life was ruined because they spent the time they should`ve used socializing or studying getting baked. Then because their life sucks so much dick, they need an escape route. What do they do? They get even more high, and soon enough, they're on the streets, beggin for money which they use to get more weed instead of food. Its fucking ridiculous.

As for marijuana legislation, believe it or not, I actually completely support it. By legalizing marijuana, nations can now more easily facilitate the amount of weed that is imported each year. They can tax them up sky high, and discourages people from doing it more often. When originally somebody had the cash to get high every day, they now only have the means of getting high once a month. It would certainly decrease the amount of crime/ car accidents etc. while also making the average productivity of a nation go up as well.

elDino said:
Where I live if you do drugs and get caught, you're subject to being executed. (This is for stuff like Heroin, but you get lashes if you do others, like weed).

Yeah so I stay away from it...
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Where the hell do you live?
 
I know many people that are completely dependent on it. Their life was ruined because they spent the time they should`ve used socializing or studying getting drunk. Then because their life sucks so much dick, they need an escape route. What do they do? They get even more drunk, and soon enough, they're on the streets, beggin for money which they use to get more alcohol instead of food. Its fucking ridiculous.
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Works the same way with alcohol buddy, In fact, alcohol is both worse for your body than marijauna, and is actually the much larger cause for crime and car accidents than weed.
 
Probably going to be shot down for saying this, but marijuana use is pathetic. It may not be directly harmful to you, but that's not the point. People who waste their lives away using this as a distraction from their hardships are just a burden on the rest of us. I find it difficult to believe that people don't do this because they are happy, but rather because they are trying to get away from reality. Then we have to deal with the crime and helplessness of the abusers. Harmless? Please, it's more than just direct health effects. Just because alcohol or whatever is in the same class doesn't make it any better.

I don't want to deal with shit like smoke fumes when I'm walking on a nice day, and I don't want to deal with a legal excuse that gives people even more of an opportunity to escape from life.
 
Eggbert, we live in an extremely hostile society and stress is a very real threat to anyone's health. You can't blame anyone from wanted to escape from this, at times, horrible world we live in.
 
Islam has a "intoxicants are prohibited rule" which includes marijuana as it impairs judgement. I've been brought up with this methodology so I don't really regret not ever trying it ever.

Also I already have problems with putting off reality and ignoring my problems so I don't think weed would be the way for me to go, anyway.
 
Eggbert, we live in an extremely hostile society and stress is a very real threat to anyone's health. You can't blame anyone from wanted to escape from this, at times, horrible world we live in.
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That makes it understandable, but not the right thing for people
 
Eggbert said:
Probably going to be shot down for saying this, but marijuana use is pathetic. It may not be directly harmful to you, but that's not the point. People who waste their lives away using this as a distraction from their hardships are just a burden on the rest of us. I find it difficult to believe that people don't do this because they are happy, but rather because they are trying to get away from reality. Then we have to deal with the crime and helplessness of the abusers. Harmless? Please, it's more than just direct health effects. Just because alcohol or whatever is in the same class doesn't make it any better.

I don't want to deal with shit like smoke fumes when I'm walking on a nice day, and I don't want to deal with a legal excuse that gives people even more of an opportunity to escape from life.
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I don't see the distinction between someone who escapes from the struggle of every day live with weed an another who escapes it by playing video games. Your point about people using weed as a way to escape every day life is legit, but I don't see it as being any more harmful than the million other ways to escape from reality and distract one from the hardships of life. Obviously there are differences (one being that as soon as you shut down a game it's over, you can't just "shut off" being high) but I don't think that directly relates to your point.
 
My marijuana history:

In eighth grade a lot of my friends started smoking pot, and I tried it and really hated it. I vowed to never do it again.

Part of it was that I thought I wasn't cool enough to smoke pot, I felt like it was something that people who had more friends than I did would do.

I didn't smoke throughout high school, and I was a really good student and shit. For college I decided I was done working hella hard in school and I decided to go to UCSC under the impression that my classes would be easy and I would just play soccer and ultimate frisbee all day.

I smoked pot the 3rd day I got there, for the 1st time in 4 years. I then smoked once or twice a week for the next year, and I smoke a few times per month nowadays. I have never had to purchase marijuana, and I was so wrong about smoking. Its a great way to meet people, and as long as you don't do it in a dumb way its reasonably healthy.
 
Eggbert said:
Probably going to be shot down for saying this, but marijuana use is pathetic. It may not be directly harmful to you, but that's not the point. People who waste their lives away using this as a distraction from their hardships are just a burden on the rest of us. I find it difficult to believe that people don't do this because they are happy, but rather because they are trying to get away from reality. Then we have to deal with the crime and helplessness of the abusers. Harmless? Please, it's more than just direct health effects. Just because alcohol or whatever is in the same class doesn't make it any better.

I don't want to deal with shit like smoke fumes when I'm walking on a nice day, and I don't want to deal with a legal excuse that gives people even more of an opportunity to escape from life.
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way to group together everyone who smokes weed as "people who waste their lives away" - sounds like you've been a victim of anti-drug propaganda. there are some extremely successful people in the world who enjoy puffing the magic dragon, we're not all losers and dropouts (see: most of the music you have ever listened to)
also, "excuse that gives people even more of an opportunity to escape from life"? you sound like you actively WANT everybody to feel miserable and oppressed

if we're talking "burdens on society" i'd much rather target teenage pregnancy or alcohol abuse or bankers' paychecks than a group of people who enjoy chilling out after work by inhaling the smoke from a plant
 
I used to be one of those people who swore never to do drugs because of those stupid assemblies at our schools. All throughout high school a bunch of my friends drank, so I didn't get to spend as much time with them. However, I changed completely once I got to college. A bunch of my high school friends go to the same college as I do, so I felt that I could trust them with regards to drugs and the like. I started drinking probably every other weekend once I left for college, but I didn't do weed until this past semester. I'm still not sure whether it would be better for marijuana to be legalized. I figure it can't really hurt since people are already dependent on drugs and alcohol as it is. Also, if it is legalized, it would probably be expensive, which would decrease use on school campuses. Then again, parents would probably provide it to their children just like they do with alcohol. Maybe legalizing pot wouldn't change that much. Whether it's legal or not, people who want it badly enough will find a way to get it.

Edit: As for the morality part... I don't think it's wrong to drink or smoke, as long as you don't abuse it. I've been drunk and high before, but I don't try to drink as much as I can before throwing up or passing out in my urine. I guess I'm trying to say there's a line between having a good time and being stupid. I only drink with a few friends. I don't go to parties because I know I can't trust everyone there.
 
those who are arguing in favour of marijuana being a gateway based on it leading to their dealers supplying them other shit just remember (iirc) there has to be a distinct causal relationship between the two; i.e. it's not gateway unless you smoke marijuana, feel it was too weak or whatever, and want something stronger; which is definitely not the case.

also i'm pretty sure if you place taxes fucking sky high on this shit people will continue to sell it illegally anyways.

also escapism is what we do everyday in our lives, dvm is right in saying marijuana is no more of a getaway than videogames, reading books, playing sport; they're all purely leisure activities!

isn't brazillianguy gonna post in here
 
just gonna go ahead and make a template post to save some of you the bother...

'i will never ever inject myself with weed because it bad.

signed: [a self-righteous 13 year old]'
 
Personally, I would never smoke anything, because smoke of any kind just irritates my airways too much >.< However, as long as marijuana is regulated the same way cigarettes are, I have no problem with it being legalized. It should be taxed, and people who want to smoke should not be able to smoke inside buildings or in non-smoking sections of restaurants and be at least 18, but as long as they're not really bothering anyone, who really cares? It's no worse than alcohol in terms of dependency-type things and accident-type things.

doomvendingmachine said:
Just before some idiot comes in and claims the opposite; you can be no more addicted to marijuana than you can be addicted to food or video games. Yeah, you can become addicted to any of those things, but it isn't a physical addiction with withdrawal symptoms; you simply go back to it because you enjoy it so much.

I've never done weed or any drug besides alcohol by the way, but I certainly don't judge anybody who does and would not be opposed to trying it at some point in my life.
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You can actually get physically dependent on marijuana, despite common misconception. It's possible to get withdrawal symptoms after you suddenly quit after chronic heavy use. Withdrawal symptoms include:
  • Anxiety and insomnia
  • Loss of appetite
  • Excessive salivation
  • Decreased pulse
  • Irritability
  • Increased mood swings
  • Increase in aggressive behavior
Of course, the vast majority of users don't get addicted, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. Especially since today's weed is more potent than weed from the 60s and 70s, it's definitely possible to develop a tolerance and addiction. Just throwing that out there, because it's best to be informed.

Here are the possible health effects of marijuana use; it covers both short-term and long-term use. Over the long term, it can give you lung problems (emphysema, cancer, etc), as well as addiction, issues with the immune system, and decreased testosterone levels/sperm counts

Again, though, these effects really only affect the user and are not much worse than alcohol/cigarettes (and in fact, pot is less addictive), so there is no good reason not to legalize it. If anything, legalization will just make it easier to regulate, because the government can tax it. And the people who want to use it are pretty much already using it anyway, so whatever. Plus if it were legalized, people could grow it legally in the US, so that would cut down on the demand for it in places like Latin America, and thus reduce drug-related violence.
 
I'm pro legalising it, though I don't use myself and never will (I'm asthmatic, smoking at all is derp for me). I know some people who use it occasionally, though.

At the moment, there's no conclusive evidence that it causes any mental health problems (Indeed, it seems likely that those with preexisting conditions will gravitate towards it). The countries where it is legal (e.g. Holland) have no higher incidence of mental illness, as far as I'm aware. Certainly there has never been an overdose of it, because it's impossible to do so, chemically speaking.

I'm not going to go as far as some proponents do and claim that alcohol is a much worse chemical because it causes X deaths, because it's consumed much more and so has more of a chance to be involved in injury or death, but at the very least it's broadly similar. We know for a fact that smoking tobacco causes all kinds of problems health-wise, and yet we permit that (even though the costs of healthcare are larger than tax revenue collected on tobacco).

I think the complaint that people get addicted to it and then never do anything with their lives because they're too depressed and just get baked all the time don't really hold water for two reasons: 1) Those people are just getting marijuana illegally and doing it anyway, so legalising it doesn't change that. 2) Even if you could eliminate the supply, the likelihood is those people would drown their sorrows in some other chemical means like alcohol.

Legalising it also opens up quite a large amount of potential tax revenue given the number of people already using it, and avoids all the cost of policing people for possession and low-level dealing. Last I heard, the USA needs a bit of revenue, so cutting these costs and simultaneously gaining taxes seems like a wise move to me.

The only morality part is when your habits affect other people - enacting drug-driving laws (or expanding the ones that already exist) like drink-driving laws solves the large part of the chance of that happening.

Ultimately, I feel the only reason it hasn't been legalised is because historic economic reasons have been co-opted into moralising. I feel that if you want to keep it banned, logic necessarily dictates you ban tobacco and possibly alcohol too.
 
i was exaggerating obviously, but China does have the highest rate of executions (not per capita, there's a difference) per year.

you still get executed for smuggling large amounts obviously, but foreigners are very rarely subjected to such extreme punishments; in addition, there are, like, 50 + crimes punishable by death, which includes theft.

the streets of shanghai are safer than the streets of most countries lol
 
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